Sunrise at Borobudur

by James on April 30, 2016

Under the veil of darkness, I saw little more than a hulking presence that towered in the distance. Our flashlights illuminated small details along the path: heavily worn steps, the edges of a gateway, and then a bell-shaped, perforated stupa. I had arrived with Bama, my longtime travel companion, and fellow bloggers Bart and Badai. All of us were repeat visitors to Borobudur, but none had yet witnessed the glory of a new day from its terraces.

The four of us sat on a ledge, awaiting the dawn with a small crowd of spectators. In time the sun rose over the slender cone of Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, and its dormant neighbour Merbabu. Beneath a boundless sky bathed in pink and flaming orange, our surroundings gradually took shape. From this colossal mandala encrusted with spires, archways and elaborate bas-reliefs, I looked out in awe as the mist burned off the forest, the nearby hills and palm-fringed fields. To visit Borobudur a second time, nearly twenty years later, was to see it with new eyes.

Much has changed since those days. Indonesia is no longer led by a pompous military dictator, but a humble, democratically elected ‘metalhead of state’. I am no longer a ten-year-old wishing to be an architect, but Borobudur inspires the same feelings of reverence and wonder. Now that I am older, it strikes me as being even more magnificent than I had ever recalled.

A new day dawns over Borobudur

Stupas hewn out of volcanic andesite

Sumbing, another active volcano, rises to the northwest

Temple silhouettes, with Merapi (centre) and Merbabu (left) in the distance

Mist on the Kedu Plain

Each stupa was built around an image of Buddha; this one has been exposed

More than a thousand years after it was completed (around 825 AD), Borobudur remains the world’s largest Buddhist temple. The structure is adorned with 504 Buddha statues and more than 2,600 individual bas-reliefs, depicting the biography of the Buddha, his former lives, and everyday scenes in eighth-century Java. Today Borobudur is still used for its original function; once a year, thousands of monks and pilgrims converge on the monument to celebrate Vesak, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha.

Buddhists and Hindus believe in samsara, an endless cycle of rebirth, and Borobudur has undergone a physical rebirth of its own. Motivated by the threat of collapse, conservationists dismantled it stone by stone between 1975 and 1982 in a large-scale restoration. Each block was meticulously catalogued and cleaned, the foundation stabilised, and a modern drainage system installed. By the early nineties, after the renovation was complete, the temple was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But Borobudur wasn’t always as celebrated. For centuries the monument lay hidden and overgrown, neglected under layers of volcanic ash from nearby Merapi.

Sacred geometry on the upper terraces, which represent ‘Arupadhatu’

Arupadhatu (the formless world) is the highest realm in Buddhist cosmology

Light and shadow

In search of solitude

Among the ancients

Looking northwest, towards Sumbing

In 1814, during a brief period when the British ruled Java, it was Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles who brought Borobudur to the world’s attention. The governor had heard of a great monument that lay deep in the jungle of Central Java, and he tasked a Dutch engineer, H.C. Cornelius, to excavate the site. It took two months to remove the earth and hundreds of trees obscuring the temple, before its faded glory was finally revealed.

Even in its ruined state, Raffles regarded Borobudur and its Hindu counterpart, Prambanan, as “admirable as majestic works of art”:

“The great extent of the masses of building covered in some parts with the luxuriant vegetation of the climate, the beauty and delicate execution of the separate portions, the symmetry and regularity of the whole, the great number and interesting character of the statues and bas-reliefs, with which they are ornamented, excite our wonder that they were not earlier examined, sketched, and described.”

Borobudur is no longer cloaked in tropical foliage, but those words, for the most part, still ring true. And that same wonder that Raffles felt 200 years ago remains for all those who come, lingering in the stillness of dawn’s first light. ◊

Another shot of the famous Buddha at Arupadhatu

Bathed in the glory of the sun

The middle section of Borobudur, symbolising ‘Rupadhatu’ (the world of forms)

Sutras in stone

Temples and maidens

Paying homage to the Buddha

Morning meditation

Dwarfed by the central stupa

‘The Borobudur Ship’ – an 8th-century double outrigger

The ship forms part of an elaborate bas-relief

Fill in the blanks

Finding a niche in ‘the world of forms’

Borobudur as seen from its base, which represents ‘Kamadhatu’, the world of desires

Thank you, Alison. I think you would both appreciate its enduring beauty. The combination of majestic architecture and spirituality – not to mention the solitude of a tropical sunrise – is totally compelling.
James

If I remember it right, last year’s visit was my fifth. Yet every time I return to Borobudur, I am always astonished by its sheer size and intricate carvings. It’s also fascinating to think how much temple-building technique had evolved in ancient Java, from modest Hindu temples in Dieng to a colossal stepped pyramid that is Borobudur. Superb photos, James!

We must have spent at least four hours at Borobudur… and it still feels like I only explored a fraction of the temple, or at least seen a small portion of its exquisite carvings. It was overwhelming in its beauty. I’m sure I will return someday in the future. Makasih, Bama!

Absolutely stunning photos, James! The light on the stupas and the mist floating behind are magical. I scrolled back and forth many times to see the images again. The history is fascinating as well. When oh when am I going to get to all these places I want to see with my own eyes?!

Thanks, Lex! “Magical” was a word that kept cropping up as I wrote this post, though I didn’t use it because I wanted the pictures to speak for themselves. The mist added such an ethereal quality to the place – it felt like being on a holy mountain. Fingers crossed you’ll make it to Indonesia soon!

Wow! Can’t think of anything else to say as dawn fills the sky with blue light outside my home office window. During America’s craziest and most disturbing presidential election yet, there’s a lesson to learn from Borobudur’s history.

Thank you, Peta. It is incredible to think that those sculptures have survived over a thousand years of wind and rain, volcanic eruptions, creeping tree roots and neglect. We are so fortunate to see them in such good condition.
James

I didn’t know the whole structure had been pulled apart stone by stone. A wonderful piece which brought back memories of my 1989 trip when I took my nine year old daughter who wasn’t a bit interested. She wanted to get to the markets below.

I can just imagine the faces of the guys who dug out Borobudur… it’s not every day you get to recover an ancient temple from the the jungle! Thanks so much, Jeff. That’s a big compliment, coming from a gifted photographer like you!

I am so looking forward to it. My new butterfly handlebars arrived at the bike shop, today, so I will be taking my bike in next Monday (working on Saturday) to have them fitted. Also will be having pannier racks fitted. Then I just need to buy a new saddle, and pannier bags, and tent, and this, and that. haha. 🙂

Thank you for sharing the stunning photos James… I give my four thumbs and other people’s as well 😀 😀 😀
Been there in the midday with the crowds of people, in the afternoon until I was kicked out in the evening, at dawn till morning like your experience and when there was a dance performance with irradiated backlights on the top of Borobudur…. but still never get bored to visit Borobudur…

Makasih banyak, Riyanti. 😀
As you said, Borobudur is a place to revisit again and again. Although I would rather not go at midday with the crowds and the harsh sunlight bleaching out my photos. The night-time dance performance sounds magical – I’d love to see it.

Agree with you, James.
Unfortunately the dance performance is a yearly event. Sometimes in August, some other time in October. If you’re interested, you have to check and recheck the official web of Borobudur park about this. 😀 Salam… saya suka bahasa Indonesia-mu 🙂

James…well, brilliant, as usual. But this post seems extra-brilliant for some reason. Obviously the photos are stunningly awesome (and I never use the word “awesome”). But your writing in this post seems so…I don’t know…mature.
I was amazed that Raffles found the place…what a guy that dude was. Have you seen his hotel in Singapore (joking). I also didn’t know it had been so hidden. And now I’m wondering where all the foliage went, because when I was there, I don’t remember much foliage around the place? And I wanted to see it early in the morning, so stayed right nearby…before the tourist buses arrived! Merapi was emitting a bit of smoke (which, I guess, isn’t unusual), but made for good photos. You and Bama make a great team…love reading both your takes on places you go!

Thanks so much, Badfish – you are too kind! Well, I think most people know Raffles for his hotel in Singapore (and two statues down by the riverbank). Also the huge, foul-smelling flower that carries his name. The foliage was already cleared by the 1870s – there are a couple old photos from that period showing the temple sans jungle growth.